Friday, February 12, 2010

The Hours

I watched The Hours for the first time last night.

I had no idea what I was in for, as I had not heard anything about the movie beforehand. To be honest, I was quite hesitant. By the time the opening credits finished, however, I knew I was in for a cinematic treat. I was relishing in discovering all the parallels between the three stories. It was an emotional ride. I identified with the women in the fact that sometimes, for no apparent reason at all, life seems too much to handle.

There is a scene where Julianne Moore's character is laying in bed, when all of a sudden, water begins to rush out from under the bed. The room fills with water until she is completely immersed. Oh, how many times I have felt that I am drowning in my own life! How many times have I wished to be free of the chains that bind me! It hasn't happened much, but there have been times that I have contemplated suicide. In fact, the time when I contemplated it the most was on my mission. The entire time I was serving, I felt like the characters in The Hours. I felt like I was drowning. The anxiety and depression that followed me were almost unbearable. I had to get out.

This movie deals a lot with death, which has been on my mind a lot recently (you've probably noticed from some of my recent posts). I mean, I have been to two funerals in just over one month. I've had a lot of opportunities to contemplate life and death. I have realized how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken away. I admit it, I am afraid of dying. I'm afraid of the unknown. Do I know for certain what awaits us on the other side? I like to say I do, for the sake of other people's comfort. But truth be told, I have no idea. There is one quote from The Hours that has stuck with me. When Virginia Woolf's husband asks her why one of her characters has to die, she responds: "Someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more. It's contrast." I guess this is true. If no one ever died, no one would appreciate their own life. No one would enjoy what God has created for them. Perhaps this also answers the question that I posed in Tuesday's post.

3 comments:

Isn't The Hours great? One of my favorite moments was right after Clarissa is talking to Richard's ex and she has that breakdown in the kitchen. After the ex leaves all anyone can do is let out a deep breath. I've felt like that so many times when all I can do to regain composure is to just breath deeply, let life sink back in. One quote from Virginia that struck me was "I'm living in a town I have no wish to live in... I'm living a life I have no wish to live... How did this happen?" I've definitely felt like that in Provo. I just love all the complex human emotion throughout the entire film. I'm glad that you got to watch such a beautiful film.